State park trail entry point.

Journey Home

Tales from the pilgrimage.

Home Life

Historical category no longer used.

  • Forward

    It’s time to move forward. In a couple of hours I’m heading to the farm for the last shift of soil blocking this year. After that the rest of the year is a blank slate. I’ll be writing something on it, to be sure. Yesterday was a quiet day in Big Grove Township. After working… Read more

  • Summer Solstice 2020

    In these waning hours of spring I have no regrets. There are challenges created by the coronavirus. There is a legacy of challenge from the before time. Many are substantial and require action. Summer starts at 4:43 p.m. today and with its new season comes hope of means and methodology to address what challenges us… Read more

  • Summer Will Not Be Repressed

    Shopping in person is my least favorite thing in the third month of the coronavirus pandemic. I dislike losing control and exposing myself to maladies real and imagined. Since the pandemic is real, personal shopping activities are reduced to a minimum. That bodes ill for the economic recovery. Our household will be just fine with… Read more

  • Pandemic Turning Point – What’s Next?

    Friday J.C. Penney filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, another victim of the coronavirus pandemic. To say I disliked the in-store experience is an understatement. To say how much I loved the on-line experience is impossible. They are a great alternative to Amazon where we can find affordable attire. Fingers crossed they come out of bankruptcy. What… Read more

  • Lilac Time

    The lilacs will soon be in full bloom. They don’t last long. What does? Social distancing in the coronavirus pandemic has me well ahead in the garden, creating an in between time to consider life’s possibilities. This week I plan to plant tomato and pepper seedlings and get everything I can into the ground. We… Read more

  • Don’t Cook Tonight

    When I was a grader, Mother would send me to the corner grocery store to secure provisions for the evening meal. We had a corner grocery store. It was a block and a half away from home. There were no supermarkets within walking distance. I don’t recall its name. A family owned it and the… Read more

  • Living with COVID-19

    I participated in a United Parcel Service webinar about challenges posed to supply chains by the coronavirus pandemic. Rich Hutchinson of Boston Consulting Group presented an overview of our response to the pandemic that made plain, clear sense. He used three Fs — Flatten, Fight and Future — to frame his discussion. We read and… Read more

  • Toward Life after a Pandemic

    It rained overnight. The driveway was damp as I stepped outside to look at the sky. Clouds were clearing and the big dipper stood out, pointing to the North Star. We are not lost. It’s a good day to live. As of yesterday the official number of deaths from COVID-19 was 21,050. By official, I… Read more

  • Two Things About The Pandemic

    It’s been 21 straight days of posting about life in the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks for reading. Two things became clear: First, life as we knew it was scrambled and for the most part that’s been a good thing. When social good comes in the form of staying at home and distancing from others in public… Read more

  • News Fasting

    At noon yesterday I decided to take a 15-hour break from reading news. I got work done in the house, including making the crackers in this photo. I slept through the night and feel ready to go. There is pent up demand to get outside in the garden, conditions are favorable, it’s all systems go.… Read more